A comparative study of consumption of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus larvae by ornamental fishes to control their population in West Bengal

Abstract

Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the carriers of a variety of diseases such as dengue, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), chikungunya, zika virus, and yellow fever. An affordable way of vector management that effectively suppresses the mosquito population for a long time is the release of larvivorous fish. In this work, ornamental fish species are identified, and their potential larvicidal efficacy for biological control of Aedes mosquito larvae is assessed. The consumption rates of four ornamental fish species (Gold fish, Betta fish, Molly fish, and Guppy) for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus larvae have been observed in the present study, and a comparison between the mean consumption rates of the four fish species for Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus has been recorded.The observation indicated practically no variance, and the intake rates for both types of larvae were almost same for the four species of fish. In contrast to guppy fish, the findings indicated that Goldfish, Black molly, and Betta fish had very high feeding rates. Therefore, in the near future, these fish can be thought of as efficient biological control agents for both Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus larvae.